YEN GUEST PHOTO
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YEN GUEST PHOTO
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alexandra valenti
This Californian native, now a resident of Austin Texas, aims to tell a story with her evocative photographs. Did you study photography? Not formally. I took a few classes when I was really young but for the most part I am self taught. I’m still learning. Favourite time of the day or year to shoot? I love the early morning but nobody ever wants to shoot early. Lazy bastards. The late afternoon is hard to beat though. Summer is my least favourite time of year to shoot because if you’re in Texas it’s hot as balls and you really don’t even want to be outside. Where does your inspiration come from? From other cultures and rituals and folklore. Also from my friends, my dreams, films and from fantasies of what life should be like. Tell us about the photo we’re using for this issue’s poster. It’s a photo of my friend Leslie Crow. She is mega rad, beautiful and extremely talented. She makes handmade leather bags, necklaces and silver and brass rings. We went swimming in Wimberley, Texas. It was all very off the cuff. That rope swing shot was the last one of the day. If you could only grab three things from your home to keep forever, what would they be? My 15-year-old golden retriever, my negatives and my licence. Because who wants to stand in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles more than they have to? Check out Alexandra’s photos at alexandraintheforest.com.
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YEN PHOTO
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ninja of mongolia
Thousands of illegal gold miners seek their fortune in the hills of Zaamar. words and photos ivor prickett
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Alag, a 22-year-old ninja miner, places his small plastic container of gold flecks on the counter in Nima's supply shop. Her digital weighing scales tally the amount of gold he and his two brothers have retrieved that day. They look on in anticipation as the amount appears on the screen. Finally it settles on 1.8g, which gives them the equivalent of about $13.20 to split. Either way, the money she gives them will find its way back to her pocket when the miners require food or supplies. However, for now the young men walk away clutching their wads of Mongolian Tugrik. Alag and his brothers are some of the thousands of illegal gold miners who are currently subsisting within Mongolia's rapidly expanding mining industry. They have been called ninjas because of the green plastic pans that they wear on their backs, which make them look like the cartoon characters The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Although the work they do is technically illegal, the government has been slow to act because the ninjas' work produces tons of gold that would have otherwise gone unfound. They contribute back to the rural economy and provide much needed growth. However, reports by the International Labour Organisation suggest that because the majority of ninja gold is sold illegally through a network of buyers and sellers to dealers in China and Korea, the full economic benefits of their handiwork are being lost. Though the government banned mining near rivers and forests in 2009 and suspended licences, this only drove the gold price up and encouraged illegal mining. Geo is one of the many illegal ninja settlements that have cropped up over Zaamar Soum, a prolific mining area in Tรถv province. It illustrates the numerous socio-economic problems that arise in these Wild West settings. Located 100 miles west of the capital, Ulaanbaatar, it is a transient settlement of roughly 200 miners, all of whom live in traditional Mongolian gers pitched amidst the craters of Geo Gold mining company. There's no running water for miles and the ninja drink contaminated water that trickles from underground springs in some of the craters. The work is dangerous and there is always the threat that Geo Gold's self-appointed security team, armed with semi-automatic rifles, will arrest them.
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YEN COVER STORY
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YEN COVER STORY
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mum named me,” Plaza says. “I have to be glad she didn’t have terrible, terrible taste. It could’ve been so much worse.” Her parents, David and Bernadette, have told interviewers that their daughter was extremely shy around strangers, but was always putting on skits and shows. Meanwhile, her two younger sisters kept her ego in check: “They tell me that I suck all the time”. As a youngster, she was inspired by the movies Christopher Guest made with the likes of Catherine O’Hara and Parker Posey, and she got her first stage experience with the Wilmington Drama League, where she played an evil stepsister in Cinderella and a chicken in The Ugly Duckling. But even, then she had her eye on another ensemble. “Saturday Night Live was the one show that my mum would let me stay up late and watch with her and that became a ritual that ended up being very important in my life,” she says. “I was young when there were great casts on it like Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer and Molly Shannon and Cheri Oteri. I would watch the new episodes and then I would watch the classic episodes with Steve Martin, Gilda Radner, Bill Murray – I could not get enough of it. That was my dream, to be on that show.” The SNL dream has so far eluded Plaza, though it’s only a matter of time before she guest hosts, but chasing it got her to where she is now. After finishing high school, she moved to New York to study film and television production at NYU, take improv classes with the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and to be closer to where SNL was made. In fact, she did get through NBC’s doors – but only as a page and an intern, though that experience would prove useful later too.
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f e s t i v a l
YEN INTERVIEW
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festival guide Come with us now, on a journey to your best summer yet. 59
Illustration Bunny Bissoux
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YEN FASHION
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city limits Photos terence Chin FASHION Pip Vassett
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This page: Uniform dress, $270. Asos sunglasses, $19.57. New Balance sneakers from my-wardrobe. com, $75 (worn throughout).
YEN FASHION
Opposite: Zambesi dress, $340. Jeffrey Campbell heels from
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Zomp, $195 (worn throughout).
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CK One Pure Colour Lipstick in 110 Wow, $35. Kit Nail File Duo, $4.95 (set of two). M.A.C Eyeshadow in Sunny Spot, $32. CK One Summer EDT 100ml, $59. Kit Nail Care Cube, $6.95.
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pop art perfection Look for bright, bold splashes of colour. Just think, what would Andy do?
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YEN BEAUTY
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PHOTOS ANNA POGOSSOVA.
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Kit Face Sponges, $5.95. Rimmel ScandalEyes Show Off Mascara, $16.95. M.A.C Pigment in Neo-Orange, $39. Eleven Australia Miracle Hair Treatment, $24.95.
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